EAST LANSING, Mich. -- During the 2011 NFL lockout, Mel Tucker faced a dilemma.
Tucker, then the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator, was set to oversee a unit with almost an entirely new starting lineup. The Jaguars had been active in free agency, but the lockout prohibited OTAs or any contact between coaches and players. Tucker couldn't even text the new guys. When the lockout lifted in late July, the Jaguars and other teams immediately began preseason preparation.
Jacksonville went on to produce the NFL's No. 6 defense that season.
"We had to bring those guys together fast," Tucker said. "Because no one cares, 'Oh, well, they got all these new guys, it's going to take them a while.' I just got really comfortable and used to new faces, getting them in place and doing it quickly."
Tucker's NFL background provided him the tools he would need a decade later, in a different job, where he orchestrated the most successful one-year roster flip in college football's transfer portal era. After going 2-5 last season, his first as Michigan State's head coach, Tucker dove into the portal and emerged with 20 players, 15 from other FBS programs.
Transfers such as running back Kenneth Walker III, the nation's leader in rushing average (142.4 yards per game), and contributions of many holdovers from MSU's 2020 team have helped the Spartans to a 7-0 start and a No. 8 ranking. Michigan State on Saturday hosts archrival Michigan, also 7-0 and ranked No. 6.
The Spartans' rapid rise shows what the portal can do for programs, if approached the right way. For Tucker, that meant applying his NFL experience.
"Going through 10 drafts and 10 free-agency periods, you get the experience of how to build a team, not just collect players," said Tucker, a coordinator with the Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Chicago Bears. "In the NFL, it's all about the players, man. It's all about the matchups. You can think you can outcoach some people, but you've got to identify players who fit what you want, in your scheme, in your coaching philosophy.
"And you've got to go get those guys."
Every college coach must navigate the transfer portal. Some are aggressive like Tucker, but most haven't been nearly as successful. Here's a look at why Tucker's NFL-style portal strategy worked, how MSU blended transfers with holdover players to optimize performance, the common misperceptions about the portal and what other teams can learn from the Spartans' approach.
Tucker's first year at MSU started late and ended early. He arrived Feb. 12, 2020, about two months after most coach hirings, and he barely spent time with the team before COVID-19 hit. MSU had no spring practice. Recruits had been signed and roster changes would be minimal.
Not surprisingly, the Spartans struggled, posting two notable wins -- over Michigan and then-No. 8 Northwestern -- and five losses by an average of 26.4 points. MSU also had players transfer out, another typical outcome of a coaching transition. But several key players also stayed and got a sense of what was to come.
"They bought in, 100 percent, like all the way in," Tucker said. "If they didn't think we were on the right track, either go to the NFL or go get a job. Why go back to a s---show, right? Even though our record didn't show it last year, what we were doing inside the program, huge changes."
MSU still needed more talent. Most college programs assign staff to monitor the transfer portal, but Tucker made MSU's personnel approach clear: The portal would be viewed like an NFL front office does with free agency. High school recruiting basically became the draft.
In 2020, MSU averaged 2.7 yards per rush with a long run of 28 yards, by a quarterback, Payton Thorne. Since the Spartans made the CFP in 2015, they had averaged only 3.73 yards per rush, which ranked 120th nationally.
"I was looking for a guy who could hit a home run, a guy that could change the game," running backs coach William Peagler said. "When I watched the tape of Ken, I realized this guy could be different. I kind of was drooling, like, 'This guy's a perfect fit for what we want to do.'"
Walker had exactly 579 rushing yards in consecutive seasons at Wake Forest. He had 13 rushing touchdowns in only seven games last year, tied for third most in team history. He was part of Wake Forest's future, but he had doubts about whether the offensive scheme, built around a slow-developing mesh with run-pass options, best fit his abilities. MSU offered a chance to run the way he wanted.
Beginning with the first play from scrimmage -- a 75-yard touchdown run at Northwestern -- Walker has delivered this season.
"You go to free agency for need, specific need," Tucker said. "You're not just randomly picking up guys. We were targeting areas where we knew we needed immediate help and/or depth. So when we were recruiting those guys in the portal, we were able to tell them specifically why we wanted them to come here."
The Spartans took a similar approach for other areas. They needed an offensive line anchor and added Jarrett Horst, an All-Sun Belt tackle from Arkansas State. They needed help at cornerback and added two from the SEC in Ronald Williams (Alabama) and Chester Kimbrough (Florida). MSU also added to its defense with linebacker Quavaris Crouch (Tennessee) and end Drew Jordan (Duke). Walker, Horst, Williams, Kimbrough and Crouch all have become full-time starters, while Jordan started the last game.
The Spartans pulled transfers from every Power 5 league -- led by five from the SEC and four from the ACC -- but did so with specific roles in mind.
"In the NFL, it's about the top of the roster, but it's about the bottom of the roster, too," Tucker said. "Every spot is critically important, because they're all doing something for you."
Tucker and his staff were thorough with portal evaluations, using their networks of contacts. But in some cases, they also had to act quickly.
Upon entering the portal, Horst immediately had interest from Oklahoma, Texas and other major programs. He became one of MSU's first portal additions.
"It's fast if they're a good one," offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic said. "If you sit around and say, 'Let's evaluate this kid for a week, everybody look at him, what do you think?' It's going to be too late. You've got to get on it."
Tucker's NFL background helped him in advising the staff on how to approach integrating new personnel. This spring, MSU's cornerback group consisted of three walk-ons and a scholarship safety moved over because of injuries and attrition.
Kimbrough committed in February and Williams in May. They were among the 11 transfer portal players who joined the team May 17. Williams started the season opener, and he and Kimbrough have been the starting cornerback tandem the past five games.
"It's not being afraid or apprehensive about having new players who are not freshmen," Tucker said. "In the NFL, guys get hurt, you go and get guys off the street. They might work out on a Monday, and then come in on Tuesday and they're practicing and playing games. It's not, 'Oh my God, we've got all these new guys. How are they going to fit in?' It's about, 'We've got these new people, they're here for a reason, let's get 'em going.'
"That [NFL] experience helped me articulate to the staff, 'As long as we stick to these parameters, it's going to work.' Because I've seen it work."
In 2000, new LSU coach Nick Saban and his staff met to discuss the roster. Tucker, the Tigers' defensive backs coach, remembers another assistant suggesting that they clean house with a team that had gone 3-8 and 4-7 the previous two years.
The "bottoming-out" personnel strategy, as Tucker calls it, used to be common, when there was no transfer portal and almost every FBS transfer had to sit out a season. Coaches also typically had more time to generate results, and there were no penalties for poor Academic Progress Rate scores.
"Nick was like, "No, no. We need to get it done with the guys that are here, and recruit,'" Tucker recalled. "We went 8-4 [in 2000] with pretty much the same guys."
The LSU experience helped Tucker understand that coaches can't ignore what they inherit.
MSU has benefited greatly from its transfer additions, but the team isn't 7-0 without help from many holdover players. Some upgraded their play to earn or maintain bigger roles. MSU brought in quarterback transfer Anthony Russo, a 26-game starter at Temple, but Thorne beat him out in a close preseason competition and has 1,701 passing yards and 15 touchdowns.
Other groups helped by welcoming transfers without "sharp elbows," Tucker said, like the offensive linemen with Horst and the running backs with Walker.
"We needed some players," senior safety Xavier Henderson said. "We didn't care where you were from, as long as you were willing to work, and all the [transfers] were. That's just kind of what college football and college sports are now. The transfer portal is a prominent thing. Whatever can help make our team better."
Jordan recalls a conversation he had with Russo and Walker about how they and other Spartans transfers would be received.
"Guys who have been here four, five, six years, seeing transfers come in, that's [potentially] going to break up a locker room," Jordan said. "But we got down to the grind and the work, and they're like, 'These guys' goal is to come in and win.'"
Tucker has been direct about personnel matters and roster strategy, emphasizing clarity in how he communicates to "eliminate the gray," even if players don't always love what they're being told. The influx of transfers after the 2020 season didn't take anyone off guard.
Some holdovers have since left MSU for the portal, including cornerback Kalon Gervin, who started last year and the first two games this season, before Kimbrough replaced him. Gervin likely won't be the last to leave, but MSU's coaches strive to avoid deception for transfers or holdovers.
"Be upfront with your guys, 'This is what we're doing. Understand he's coming in, nothing's been promised to him, he's got to earn his playing time, but he is coming in,'" Kapilovic said. "That's important, that the kids see that they have to earn their way, and there is a competition.
"No surprises."
Henderson calls MSU "a no B.S. Culture." Secondary coach Harlon Barnett, a former All-American defensive back at MSU and longtime assistant, periodically holds what he calls "keep it 1,000" meetings, where he provides unfiltered evaluations.
"I just go through each guy, 'This is where you are,'" Barnett said. "They might not like it, but they want to hear it. Can they handle it? Yes. We've got to give them more credit for that. Those are the ones you want on the team. The ones that can't, you want them gone."
Tucker repeatedly has seen the value of coaches improving what they acquire. A year after Tucker joined Jim Tressel at Ohio State as defensive backs coach in 2001, the Buckeyes won a national title, mostly with players from previous coach John Cooper. Then, another year after Tucker joined Kirby Smart at Georgia in 2016, the Bulldogs reached the national title game mostly with Mark Richt's players.
Tucker said he will never forget the standing ovation he received from MSU's players when he first entered the team room in February 2020. Coaching changes can rattle programs, especially ones as late as MSU's. Tucker was replacing Mark Dantonio, the winningest coach in team history.
Not every player who applauded would stay, but Tucker sensed he had enough support.
"They were open, they were eager, for whatever reason. " he said. "When I was talking to those guys in that first meeting, there was a lot of head-nodding going on. A lot of people were like, 'Yes. This makes sense to me.'"
Sitting in his office last week at Michigan State, Tucker mulled the biggest misconceptions about the transfer portal. He said he thinks they exist both for teams and players, and mainly stem from viewpoints that lack nuance.
"You can't just stereotype guys," he said. "A misconception is that the portal is a 'Last Chance U' deal. It may be that for some guys, but for some others, it's not even close to that. Everyone has their individual story of why they're in the portal. It's not necessarily because they weren't good enough, or because they got kicked out, or whatever.
"Why do guys become free agents in the NFL? Why would [the team] let that guy go? Well, who knows? Everybody's different."
Free agency has become a derogatory term for some coaches and administrators, who grumble about the portal and the one-time transfer exemption. Tucker says this stems from "apprehension because of the unknown," regarding the portal.
At Michigan State, coaches and players matter-of-factly mention free agency to describe the portal and the transfer process.
"If I wasn't playing football and I was in the real world, and I didn't like my career and I had to do something for my family or to better myself to get in a better position to make more money or be happier or whatever, I would have to make a decision," Walker said. "That's how the transfer portal is."
Added Jordan: "It's definitely like NFL free agency. If you weren't successful at your previous school, the grass might not be greener. But if you had success at your school and had a lot of playing time, [other coaches] see your body of work, then the transfer portal is everything you could make it."
A thorough and customized approach helped MSU maximize the portal and avoid mistakes other teams have made. Spartans coaches tried to pinpoint why players entered the portal, what they were seeking and whether MSU was a match.
Some transactions were quick and straightforward, like Horst, who had dominated the Group of 5. But a portal push like MSU's requires more than Googling names.
"I remember 247 [Sports] had a list of the best guys in the portal and Kenneth was 95th," Henderson said. "It's not about who the media thinks is the best. It's who fits the program and who wants to work hard."
MSU's recent history with personnel evaluation provides an important reference point. A surge from 2013 to 2015, which included two Big Ten titles, three top-six finishes nationally and the CFP appearance, allowed the program to access a different tier of recruits.
In 2016, MSU signed ESPN's No. 22 recruiting class, headlined by Auston Robertson, Josh King and Donnie Corley. All three would be dismissed from the program in 2017 after being charged with criminal sexual assault. Robertson, who had a history of assaulting girls and women before he arrived at MSU, is serving time in prison for sexual assault.
"You've got to work through and find out, 'Is this a good guy? Is his core good?'" said Barnett, who coached under Dantonio at MSU from 2007 to 2017. "You've got to really investigate the character and know what you're getting, and then go from there. All of us have got to vet that out."
This winter will generate more portal activity around college football. Teams are already preparing for roster renovations. Last week, Illinois coach Bret Bielema talked about "tough decisions" ahead, saying, "The roster is going to have to change to get to where we want to be."
Tucker doesn't expect to target another big transfer group, noting that many transfers MSU added have multiple years of eligibility left.
"I want to build through the draft," Tucker said with a laugh.
MSU will be an annual portal presence, though, especially since teams can now sign up to seven transfers who don't count against the 25-player scholarship limit. Tucker wants to be 100 percent behind every high school recruit MSU signs. If he or the staff isn't completely sold, he would rather take a transfer than reach for a high school player.
The Spartans' portal success likely will serve as a model for other teams.
"People are going to try to do the same thing," said Peagler, the running backs coach. "They're going to try to bring in a lot of transfers. It's about bringing the right people, though. There are a lot of talented players in the portal that didn't fit."
Tucker hopes MSU's initial portal push continues to yield strong results.
"You know there's going to be players," he said. "If you can establish a track record of guys coming here and having success, having a good experience, it puts you in the running for the best portal guys."